


Unpredictable

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: #descriptive, Also yes hi, Angst, Fluff, It pains me, Lance why do you always forget everything important you're hurting keith, Langst, Multi, So much angst, and i can get, but it's like, he does not fucking die in the first chapter I promise, im not that heartless, klangst, really far down the line, smut ensues, so watch out fam, theres
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-13
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-10-31 05:18:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10892499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: The battle was over.Lotor's fleet was fleeing, and the team was ecstatic.Shiro was congratulating everyone, Allura and Coran were cheering, Keith was fist pumping the air, Pidge was laughing victoriously, and Hunk was dancing excitedly in his cockpit.But Lance? He was dying.





	1. Chapter 1

* * *

They had no idea how many fighters there would really be.

They had underestimated Lotor’s ability to take lead of the war, while his father was recuperating from the severe beating Voltron had given him.

Overall, Voltron was outnumbered. They were unable to keep up with the multitude of jets, which seemed to be a never ending fleet.

Shiro pushed them to the brink, and finally, they were able to take out enough ships to give them an opening.

Hunk used his bayard to form his shoulder cannon, taking out the energy canons on a majority of the warships, forcing Lotor to pull back his fleet and retreat. 

**_But not before Blue was shot by a fleeing fighter jet._ **

Somehow, the laser cut through Blue, shattering through her cockpit and nailing Lance in the back. Blue lurched forward, feeling Lance’s pain.

The right side of Lance’s torso was burned. The team was so wrapped up in the exhilaration of victory, they didn’t notice Lance choking back pain filled sobs. He suppressed them, and began laughing along with the others, ignoring his own agony. They didn’t need to deal with the knowing he was hurt when they were so happy. He felt blood trickle down his chin, and he knew he had bashed his head against the controls when Blue lurched.

Lance shook his head, feeling just how quickly the pain overcame him. He choked, but swallowed back any form of distress.

“We did it!” Pidge exclaimed excitedly, whooping victoriously along with Hunk’s victory dance.

“Nice job team!” Shiro complemented proudly, smiling as he turned his lion around, flying back towards the castle, and a well earned resting period. Allura smiled proudly at the paladins, her face popping up on the intercoms in front of each paladin.

Lance’s attempts at concealing his pain were in vain. Allura noticed almost immediately.

“Well done paladins! Come quickly so that we may celebrate! I’ll open the hall of lions once you are all directly outsi- Lance?!” Allura’s worried tone sliced through the intercoms and all the paladins’ focuses were on Lance’s screen in a split second.

The paladins all periodically enlarged the screen.

Keith choked.

“Hey guys! We did it!” Lance laughed uneasily, trying to cover his wound. But blood was more difficult to conceal, as was the immediate agony of moving, blossoming across his face.

“ ** _Shit_** \- everyone get back to the castle! Lance- do you think you can make it in time?!” Shiro shouted, terror of losing Lance overcoming him. He had never sweared in front of the others before, and that was enough to send them into a panic. Pidge and Hunk were on the verge of tears, and Keith’s anxiety held him teetering over the edge of oblivion that was his mind.

Lance grinned, but slowly, his eyes shut, and his head fell forward.

Anxiety bloomed in everyone’s chest and Shiro was that much closer to an anxiety attack.

“Lance?! ” Shiro all but screamed, leaning forward in his cockpit chair, trying to reach out to Lance through the screen. Blue started moving, but Lance, seemingly lifeless, did not move an inch on the intercoms.

“The blue lion is piloting itself?!” Pidge exclaimed, confusion and dread evident in her tone. Blue sped towards the Castle.

“Follow Blue! Hurry!” Keith shouted, turning Red around swiftly, immediately flooring it. He flew to the Castle at an alarming speed, with Pidge and Hunk right behind him. Shiro, shaken from the sudden realization Lance might not have made it, was a little slow on catching up with the others. He shook the thoughts away in denial.

‘ _He has to make it. He has_ **got** _to be okay._ ’ Shiro thought, speeding after the others.

Blue all but smashed through the hangar doors, much to Allura’s shock, and flew directly to her landing point.

Blue landed safely, careful not to shake too much, intending not to hurt Lance any further, and once she had, she turned all her energy towards waking him.

‘ _Wake, my Blue paladin. Your teammates need you._ ’  Blue nudged Lance into consciousness, and he reluctantly complied. He shook his head, attempting to shake away the feelings of agony. Blue supported his attempts by forcing positive emotions into his thought process. 

He felt exceedingly better, and was even capable enough to rise out of his piloting chair, afterwards making his way to the cockpit’s exit.

Keith spun Red into landing position, opened the cockpit, and **booked** it, running towards Lance as fast as he possibly could.

“Lance?! _**Lance?!**_ ” Keith, Hunk, and Pidge all ran to the Blue Lion, their feet slamming into the cold metal floors of the Castle. Blue’s eyes dimmed, and Keith was on the verge of a mental break down.

“Please be okay, _please_ be okay…” Keith heard Shiro mutter, finally landing Black into the hangar and hopping out quickly. Shiro caught up almost immediately, soon followed by a worried Coran and a panicked Allura.

“Not Lance… **Anyone** but Lance.” Hunk whispered to himself breathlessly, tears threatening to spill. Keith tried his best to keep his mind from wandering to dark thoughts about Lance’s state.

They skidded to a halt. Blue’s cockpit was opening.

Out stumbled Lance, and Keith tricked himself into feeling relief- until he saw the blood.

**_There was so much of it._ **

The crimson substance trickled out of his mouth, down his arm, and there was blood all across his torso. His forehead had blood dripping down the right side of it. His usually soft brown hair was a tangled mess, matted against his head due to all the blood.

“ _Lance_?” Keith’s voice cracked.

Lance was too pale. His knees were shaking. His breathing was uneven. His blue eyes looked so _empty_. And yet, he still managed to pull off his winning smile without a hitch. Keith’s stomach lurched.

“Yup. In all my wounded, bloody glory.” Lance chuckled, his expression littered with pain.

“We need to get you to the healing pods.” Keith ran forward, and as soon as he got close enough, he lifted Lance into his arms bridal style. Lance’s breathing hitched, but when Keith looked down at him, he smirked.

“Who knew the hotheaded Keith could be such a gentleman?” Lance chuckled, and Keith _almost_ blushed.

“I don’t need a pick up line right now Lance- I need you to keep your eyes open and stay **alive**.” Keith lifted an eyebrow, lifting one arm slightly. Lance gasped, an agonizing pain shooting through his spine from the faint movement.

Keith stared down at the agony ridden Lance, and finally took a good look at the wound.

His stomach lurched uncomfortably.

Lance had been shot with one of Zarkon's lasers.

Lance was _ **dying**_.

 


	2. Chapter 2

   It had been over two months since Lance was put into the cryo pod, and the team was restless.

Pidge kept her attention glued to a screen 24/7, and seldom ate. When she **did** eat, it was Hunk who _forced_ her into the kitchen because he had stress baked, and needed another one of the paladins to help him consume all of the food. She was snappier than before, her usually teasing responses replaced with clipped, and occasionally insensitive remarks. The rest of the team learned to keep their interactions with Pidge to the bare minimum, only speaking to her when it was absolutely necessary, in an attempt to avoid eliciting a harsh response from her.

Hunk kept to the kitchen, only ever retreating to his room when he was far too tired to bake another batch of attempted space cookies or was forced to train with the other paladins. Hunk scarcely spoke, only speaking when spoken to. Even then, he kept his speech to a bare minimum, his responses curt and monotone. He made no moves to interact with any of the other paladins, leaving his team members to take a guess about his emotional state. It wasn’t that difficult to assume that Hunk had lost his one sense of home. Hunk and Lance had been best friends for **_years_ ** ; even before they both were accepted into the Garrison, they had been glued to the other’s side for as long as they could remember. It was difficult for Hunk to adjust so suddenly, and he wanted his best friend back- desperately.

Shiro rarely slept, letting his consciousness slip away from him only to return moments later because of his PTSD-induced nightmares. Lance had been the one to pull Shiro off to sleep numerous times with stories of his cousin’s and his sibling’s shenanigans, and experiences he had gone through with his large family. Lance even went as far as singing songs his mother had taught him, on the rare occasion his stories weren’t enough to ease some of Shiro’s anxiety. Shiro struggled, his anxiety getting the best of him frequently. He wanted Lance’s company.

Allura was confused and guilty. At the beginning of the first week, she was ashamed to be thankful for the peaceful quiet at the dining table and ruefully appreciative for the laser-like focus the team had in the training deck now that Lance wasn’t spouting pick up lines or jokes left and right. But now, as it was nearing the middle of the third month, she was longing for his stupid jokes, his annoying antics, everything that was absent swarmed through her conscience. The heavy silence fell upon the team like a dense blanket, and Allura found herself in the med bay more than once over the span of Lance’s recovery, looking up at his motionless form, willing him to wake. Nothing ever came, and she eventually stopped trying.

The night she gave up was difficult for her. She in no way wanted to exit the room, fearing that if she did, Lance would wake with no one by his side, and no one to help him to his room to rest. She could have stayed in that room for _**vargas**_ , until she finally broke down from the silence. She had collapsed to her knees, tears dropping from her cheeks and bottom lip trembling. Her shoulders shook as violent sobs ricocheted off of her vocal chords, and she slammed her fists into the floor repeatedly.

Half a varga passed, and the tears had finally subsided, along with the pain echoing from her knuckles. When she looked back up to the blue paladin’s calm and silent form, her face wet and tearstained, she froze. Absolutely nothing had changed. Lance was still asleep, injured, and unmoving. She could scream, bang on the glass, _anything-_ and nothing would change. Lance would still be in the cryo pod. Lance would still be asleep. His voice would still be locked in the cage that disguised itself as his body.

Allura looked down at her flushed and bruised knuckles, eyes wide in horrific realization. With reality sinking into her train of thought, she had raised herself off of the cold floor of the castle, and exited the room with so little as a glance over her shoulder, before disappearing into the dark hallways of the castle.

Coran was missing telling his own stories and his own personal escapades to a more than willing to listen to Lance. He missed sharing his time at the Altean Fighter Academy with Lance. Coran enjoyed Lance’s company, and yes, he was fully aware of it, but he was only reminded further, now that Lance’s joking tone was nowhere to be heard in the large, seemingly vacant castle. The silence enveloped him, and he found himself retreating to the library more than once- as if wanting to disappear into the worlds that books offered.

Keith never left his room.

Not to train, not to eat- **nothing** . He would sit on his bed for _hours_ at a time, staring at the pristine floor of his dorm-like bedroom, his reflection staring hauntingly back up at him. His unusually dull violet eyes would bore into his sense of being, his conscience would occasionally falter, and he would wake several hours later only to stare aimlessly at the ground. He missed the meaningless challenges that Lance constantly proposed, and he missed the sparkle in Lance’s eyes when Keith reacted to his taunts. He missed how he not so subtly flirted with Lance as if he was a damn fifth grader, and he missed Lance’s laugh echoing throughout the castle like a lullaby wafting through the air. Keith rarely slept, but when he did, his dreams were haunted by the memories of Lance’s agony-ridden expression- his blood covered torso, and that damn **smile**.

That smile Lance had given him before he passed out in his arms seeped into his train of thought more than once, and he _hated_ it. He loved the smile itself, but with those circumstances, it broke him. Keith saw that smile and he knew how desperately Lance wanted to lighten the mood, but it didn’t work. In fact, it had backfired. Keith knew that Lance would be okay, but that didn’t stop him from thinking the worst of it. He knew that Lance’s wound would heal and that he would be fine once he got out of the cryo pods, but he couldn’t help thinking that Lance would _never_ come out.

Three consecutive knocks echoed throughout Keith’s room.

His dark eyes raised to meet the door, and he waited patiently for a voice to follow the knocks.

“Keith? It’s… It’s me, buddy.” Hunk’s voice cut through the destructive atmosphere of Keith’s room, and he tensed. Hunk’s voice was strained- as if his words had been pushed out forcefully. Keith felt uneasy but refused to let his friend and teammate bask in the viciousness of the endless silence.

“C… Come in,” Keith responded lightly, his voice edging on a whisper.

The door opened slowly, and Hunk stood in the doorway, a quiet look of urgency written across his face. The look’s intended meaning hit Keith with the force of a truck.

Keith stood quickly and practically _sprinted_ to where Hunk stood, latching onto the front of Hunk’s vest, the fabric balled into his fists. Hunk held his stance and looked down at Keith calmly. Neither of the two spoke. Hunk clenched his jaw tightly, unmoving, and Keith’s panicked eyes were a deep contrast to Hunk’s own steady gaze. Hunk opened his mouth to speak, his voice raw and rough, due to the rarity of his speech over the past three months.

“Coran ran a diagnosis on Lance’s vitals about twenty minutes ago. He said that he should be waking up any minute now. Everyone is in the med bay. I figured you would need someone to help you there since I doubt that you have the mental or physical strength to get there yourself.” Hunk finished quietly, a bittersweet smile spreading across his face. Keith’s fists tightened, and he could feel tears spilling down his cheeks.

Hunk’s expression turned to one of sympathy, and he cautiously wrapped his arms around Keith’s small frame. He felt Keith melt into the touch, and Keith ducked his tear stained face into the crook of Hunk’s neck. The two paladins stood in the doorway quietly, the only sounds cutting through the echoing silence being Keith’s silent hiccups, and Hunk’s even breathing.

“ _I know Keith, I know._ ” Hunk whispered, tightening the embrace and pulling Keith closer. Hunk’s fingers ran through the ends of Keith’s dark hair at the base of his neck, and Keith felt goosebumps stretch across the span of his shoulders. Keith voiced no protests, and let Hunk comfort him the only way he knew how. Keith’s breathing slowed, and his posture straightened; Hunk took both of those actions as signs to let go and made efforts to end the embrace, but Keith’s hands fell from Hunk’s chest, and his arms flew around Hunk’s midsection.

“ _Just a little longer..._ **_Please_ ** _._ ” Keith whispered, and Hunk choked back his own sobs, struggling to believe his own ears. To think that Keith was broken enough to the point where he voluntarily asked for physical comfort- it didn’t sit well with Hunk, but he complied, either way, knowing that Keith was sensitive at the moment and that he needed Hunk there with his arms around him. Keith buried his face in Hunk’s chest, warmth as well as Hunk’s arms enveloping him in a lasting embrace. Hunk knew that Keith’s tears would stain his shirt, but he didn’t give a single quiznak. He held him for however long he had; it could’ve been five minutes, or five years- he wouldn’t’ve noticed- all he knew was that Keith was in pain and needed comforting.

Hunk held still, letting his arms melt onto Keith, now in less of a hug, but more a cuddling embrace. A comfortable silence settled in between the two paladins, and Keith worked on keeping his breathing low and deep, encouraging Hunk, who was now sniffling, to do the same.

When Hunk’s breathing evened out, Keith let go and wiped his eyes. He looked up at Hunk, who was wiping away tears of his own and grinned. It took Hunk by surprise, and he blinked in disbelief for a few seconds before deciding that yes, this was real, and smiling wider than he had in awhile. These were both genuine smiles, and the boys were grateful for the right to them.

Hunk extended his hand, inviting Keith to follow him to the med bay, and Keith gladly accepted, slipping his hand into the welcoming warmth of Hunk’s own. Hunk winked and took off down the corridor. Keith struggled at first to keep up but balanced out his strides, close behind.

“Race you!” Hunk shouted, letting go of Keith’s hand and darting down the hall at a surprising speed. Keith’s eyes widened, and hearing a challenge, he took off, haul assing down the hallway after Hunk.

By the time they had entered the med bay, they were both out of breath; Hunk was wheezing, and Keith was laughing breathlessly. The rest of the team- who were huddled around the cryo pod holding Lance and displaying his vitals -stared at the two paladins curiously. Hunk collapsed, heaving as his lungs searched desperately for the air he had lost while _booking_ it to the med bay.

“I totally won.” Keith gasped as his hands found a home on his knees, and a shit-eating grin spread across his face. Hunk flipped him off wordlessly, and Keith laughed, still gasping for air.

“Did you two seriously **race** to the med bay?” Pidge cocked an eyebrow upwards, her lips slowly curling upwards as Shiro chuckled and rolled his eyes in fond exasperation. Coran smiled, showing affection for the two young adults, and Allura shook her head, turning back to Lance’s sleeping form.

“Coran? How much longer?” Allura asked, her eyebrows knitting together as her tone dripped with worry. The others stiffened and turned to see Allura placing her hand on the glass of the cryo pod cautiously- as if she believed it would break. Keith’s stomach bottomed out, and he felt a tingling shiver run through his spine. His stomach felt significantly colder, and he felt goosebumps sprout across his shoulders. Hunk’s eyes widened, and he felt dread fly into his consciousness. Pidge’s hands froze over the keys of her laptop, and she turned to look up at Allura with an anxious expression. Coran looked to the princess sympathetically and moved towards her. Shiro beat him to it, and Coran watched curiously as Shiro stood next to her.

“You don’t need to worry Allura. He’ll be out soon.” Shiro reassured her, his voice wrapping around the team like a warm blanket. He placed a light hand on her shoulder and smiled softly down at Allura, who stared back up at him with wide eyes. Allura returned the smile gratefully, her eyes closing briefly as she nodded. Shiro squeezed her shoulder, his expression turning sorrowful as he looked back to Lance. Keith smiled, and Hunk nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly. Pidge smiled, the corners of her mouth quirked upwards as she continued clicking away on her laptop. Coran turned to look at Lance as well, crossing his arms in satisfaction.

What the team didn’t know is that Shiro was only half serious. Meanwhile, the other half of him was desperately trying to convince himself- that yes -Lance would be fine. Why did he feel so anxious? What was it about the situation that made him feel such violent dread?

‘He’ll be out soon.’ Shiro thought to himself, a lump forming in the back of his throat. He knew he had to stay strong for the others, and he also knew that Lance was going to walk out of the cryo pod with nothing so little as a scratch on him. He would step out of the cryo pod feeling woozy, worst case scenario. So why was he convinced that something would go wrong? He shook his head, convincing himself that it was only the lack of sleep that had made him mentally unbalanced. He was unsure, yes, that was true, however, he knew that it was only irrational fear.

He rebalanced his smile and looked up at Lance’s sleeping form once again, Allura’s figure and aura suffocating him. The team fell into a comfortable silence and resorted to looking into Lance’s cryo pod expectantly. He would wake up soon, and when he did- they’d be there, waiting for him.

Speak of the devil.

Steam erupted from the cryo pod as the clear door dissipated, and everyone shot up from their respective places from around the room. Lance’s breathing deepened, signaling his waking, and Keith rushedto the cryo pod, Hunk following behind quickly.

Pidge practically _slammed_ her computer shut- she’d regret it later -and hopped into the air, landing on their feet as she quickly made her way to the cryo pod. Shiro was hanging on the silence desperately, looking up at Lance’s face hopefully. Allura was almost upsettingly close, her body practically  _leaning_ on the cryo pod.

Blue eyes fluttered open slowly, and Lance looked down at his teammates, still in the middle of processing what was going on.

**_Lance was awake._ **

 

 

 


End file.
